May Revise preview + Childcare COLA increase + Abortion clinic security funding

Andrew Sheeler
·4 min read
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Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

AS MAY REVISE LOOMS, CA BUDGET & POLICY CENTER RELEASES PREVIEW

This Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will unveil his May Revise budget, which means that lawmakers will get down to the business of working it into a spending plan everyone can agree on.

We know that the news isn’t likely to be good. Even in January, Newsom told us to expect a multi-billion-dollar deficit, and that outlook has likely gotten gloomier since then. The standoff over the federal budget isn’t helping.

With the May Revise just days away, the nonpartisan California Budget & Policy Center released an analysis of just what we can expect.

For starters, that $22.5 billion shortfall Newsom predicted in January will likely be bigger. One unknown: late tax collection due to the winter rain storms, giving most Californians more time to file.

“If revenues ultimately come in significantly below the estimates, mid-fiscal year corrections to the budget may be necessary in early 2024,” the analysis said.

Another thing to look for is whether Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic supermajority can come to terms on ways to close that budget shortfall. Senate Democrats have their own ideas, including raising taxes on large corporations.

“The California Senate’s budget plan shows how policymakers can make a positive difference in the lives of Californians despite the state’s budget challenges. Bold investments that help Californians access health care, child care, and affordable housing require additional funding and should be taken seriously,” the center wrote.

The budget think tank urged California to seek other revenue streams to address state residents’ need for housing, clean drinking water, higher education and a “robust safety net to fall on when things get tough.”

ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATS PROPOSE BILLION-DOLLAR COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT FOR CHILDCARE WORKERS

On Monday, Assembly Democrats proposed increasing childcare funding by more than 25% to account for inflation and stabilize a struggling industry. That amounts to a billion-dollar increase.

“This first investment will move the child care industry away from the poverty wages that have been in effect since 2016 and are still paid today. We are insisting on the down payment now,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting, who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee, in a statement.

Ting’s office pointed to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing that inflation has increased 25.44% between July 2016 and March of this year. Many childcare facilities and workers have left the industry because provider pay rates haven’t kept up.

“Child care keeps California working, but providers are closing their doors. Families are still waiting on long waitlists and missing work. The child care system is collapsing and we can’t continue to stand still,” said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, who chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance.

The COLA adjustment also has the support of Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes and Speaker-Designate Robert Rivas, as well as Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who vice-chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus.

“Our children’s care providers deserve every bit as much respect as any public servant. We cannot short them as they work every day doing one of the most important jobs in our state,” she said.

NEWSOM ANNOUNCES MILLIONS IN GRANTS FOR ABORTION CLINIC SECURITY

Clinics that offer abortions and other reproductive health services are often at-risk for vandalism and violence. With that in mind, Newsom on Monday announced nearly $8 milllion in grant funding to 21 facilities for security upgrades.

“As attacks on reproductive health care continue, we’re providing resources to help ensure patients and providers feel safe and secure while accessing or providing critical reproductive health care,” Newsom said in a statement.

The grants, administered by the state Office of Emergency Services, will go to facilities including Planned Parenthood clinics from Redding to Redondo Beach, according to the governor’s office.

This is the latest move by the governor’s office to shore up abortion services. Last month, Newsom announced he was creating an emergency stockpile of misoprostol. In February, he said that California was joining the multi-state Reproductive Freedom Alliance to safeguard reproductive health in the wake of hostile state laws and court rulings.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“There is too much racism and too many guns in this country, and it’s a deadly and evil combination.”

- Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, via Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

  • Republicans and Democrats are stuck over how to increase the federal government’s debt limit, and that could mean big economic trouble for California and, for that matter, the nation and world, via David Lightman.

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to convert San Quentin State Prison from a maximum security facility into rehabilitation center that’s a model for the rest of the state — and he wants Sacramento’s leader to play a significant role, via Lindsey Holden.